Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2021

Small groups of consultants have now become groups of specialists – CFO Services, Marketing Services, or Management Services. Results” these days are not PowerPoint slides, or theories and recommendations. A "client" implies that the consultant is in charge, while "customer" suggests that the service provider is beholden.

Startup 150

Startup Slides Email Custom 150

Berkonomics

JULY 3, 2014

When I give a keynote address, I often start by asking my audience, by raise of hands, to tell me how many are angel or VC investors, and how many are entrepreneurs, how many are service providers such as attorneys. Immediately, I can tell how to orient the explanations behind my pre-cast slides, based upon the response.

Slides 201

Slides Startup Venture Capital Organization 201

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 10, 2021

Develop a personal-engagement extraordinary service mentality. The new customer generation wants to provide input, and wants to be treated as one-of-a-kind in their solution, delivery, and service. They stick in our minds and help us remember ideas and concepts in a way that numbers and text on a slide with a bar graph won’t.

Custom 140

Custom Customer Slides Commerce 140

socalTECH

JUNE 21, 2012

The event--one of a number of events focused on LA tech, entertainment & startups tied into the Silicon Beach Fest--will award $20,000 in cash from StartEngine, $12,000 in cloud hosting services from Peak Hosting, and many other prizes to the top technical products cooked up at the event.

Southern California 145

Southern California Slides Entertainment Startup 145

socalTECH

OCTOBER 8, 2009

El Segundo-based ScanDigital , the photo scanning and video transfer service headed by Anderson Schoenrock, has partnered with document scanning service Pixily, the firms said today. According to the firms, they will cross promote their services. Financial details of the cross promotion deal were not disclosed.

El Segundo 133

El Segundo Slides Services Help 133

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

I recommend a ten-slide pitch to start, reviewed by friends and advisors, to be expanded to a ten-to-twenty-page business plan with opportunity sizing, cost and price details, competitors, marketing and sales strategy, financial projections, and resources required. Make the product or service come alive.

Ideas 94

Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94

Berkonomics

APRIL 19, 2012

It is a failed litmus test for the entrepreneur, even if the plan is for a totally new device or service that could take the world by storm. Doing nothing is the main competitor for most products and services, whether a compelling new idea or a seasoned product long proven to be effective.

Competition 189

Competition Slides Sales Ideas 189

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 12, 2010

We led off with a discussion about Slide being acquired by Google, which was breaking news in the time slot where we filmed this episode. Specifically we talked about Slide having gotten a $550 million valuation before being sold to Google for $182 million. Angel investors need to be smart and not just follow-along. (ie.

Venture Capital 232

Venture Capital Slides Seed Funding Google 232

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

In their passion and excitement about a new product or service, entrepreneurs tend to continually narrow the scope of potential competitors, and often claim to have no direct competitors. Non-specific terms, like better usability and low cost don’t incite customers to action these days.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2009

In its quarterly results, the firm continued to see a slide in the firm's dial up business, down to $54.1M United Online operates NetZero and other, dial-up Internet access services. in income on $260.8M in revenues. for Q2, down 17% from Q2 last year.

Woodland Hills 100

Woodland Hills Slides Report Media 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

When pitching to investors, entrepreneurs always seem to start with a customer pitch, then add a slide or two about the business. In reality, they need a separate pitch about the business, carrying over only a slide or two about the solution. Remember, investors are buying into the business, not the product.

Product 103

Product Slides Customer Custom 103

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

The company had less than $5 million in revenue yet we had a multi-tab spreadsheet doing activity-based costing on our customer service staff, operations and technology. We missed our sales target by more than 66% for the year but we had great slides explaining why. After a few board meetings I finally spoke up.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Technical Review Slides CTO Coach 414

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

For what ever reason we’re wired to have amnesia during the run up and prescient memories of how we ‘knew it all along’ as soon as the slide begins. Have an in-house professional services team that implements your software. I wrote about The Importance of Professional Services here. I know, I know.

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2011

A perfect round number is ten slides, with the right content, that can be covered in ten minutes. Here are the ten slides you need: Problem and market need. Make sure to communicate the relevance of your product / services to market needs. Even if you have an hour booked, the advice is the same. Opportunity sizing.

Slides 93

Slides Competition Sample Sales 93

Eric Greenspan

DECEMBER 13, 2009

The first slide was entitled, “Once Upon a Time in Jorts&# as I found an old picture of myself and Jeremy Anticouni (we’ve worked together for 14 years, 3 companies) and sadly, I was wearing a pair of jorts. Tags: Eric Greenspan make it work customer service mini cooper social media training Twitter. It was a great day!

News 172

News Santa Barbara Social Media Custom 172

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 21, 2019

when every executive function attends a meeting and when each person has prepared “just” 5–10 slides the entire meetings becomes more of an update meeting and less of a strategic debate about the most critical issues affecting the company. The non-obvious reason is this?—?when

Startup 161

Startup Slides Ideas Guide 161

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2014

Small groups of consultants have now become groups of specialists – CFO Services, Marketing Services, or Management Services. Results” these days are not PowerPoint slides, or theories and recommendations. All aspects of customer service apply. Specialist versus consultant. Charge by task or fixed-rate.

Startup 102

Startup Slides Customer Custom 102

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

I started by trying to think I could explain my concept without having to patronize everybody with artificial PowerPoint slides. This approach generally works well with customers because I find it much easier to build rapport when we talk like humans than when we all stare at the PowerPoint slides being projected on the wall.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 27, 2012

I believe there needs to be more focus on reinventing eduction, healthcare, energy and even less noble industries such as television, telephony and financial services. As per my video, think about the data in the following slide. No wonder there’s a growth in video game companies and photo apps. Where I Might Expand the Argument.

Technical Review 299

Technical Review Venture Capital Yammer Google 299

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2012

Small groups of consultants have now become groups of specialists – CFO Services, Marketing Services, or Management Services. Results” these days are not PowerPoint slides, or theories and recommendations. All aspects of customer service apply. Specialist versus consultant. Charge by task or fixed-rate.

Startup 85

Startup Slides Customer Custom 85

Eric Greenspan

DECEMBER 13, 2009

The first slide was entitled, “ Once Upon a Time in Jorts &# as I found an old picture of myself and Jeremy Anticouni (we’ve worked together for 14 years, 3 companies) and sadly, I was wearing a pair of jorts. Tags: Eric Greenspan make it work customer service mini cooper social media training Twitter.

Burbank 156

Burbank Yahoo News Social Media 156

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 16, 2011

Small groups of consultants have now become groups of specialists – CFO Services, Marketing Services, or Management Services. Results” these days are not PowerPoint slides, or theories and recommendations. All aspects of customer service apply. Specialist versus consultant. Charge by task or fixed-rate.

Startup 93

Startup Customer Custom Slides 93

Jason Nazar

JUNE 1, 2016

Forget Your Slides. Have your slides there, reference the key points as needed, but keep the focus on each other — not a slideshow. Investors want to see that (a) this business is growing at a compounding rate; (b) that people love the product and service; and (c) that there’s a meaningful monetization opportunity.

Slides 49

Slides Startup Entrepreneur Metrics 49

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

As a startup advisor and investor, I recommend a pitch deck with about 10 slides backed up with a written business plan of approximately 20 pages, both containing quantified answers to the following key questions. What is the business problem you are solving? What is your specific solution and value proposition?

Invest 108

Invest Startup Slides Equity 108

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2015

Develop a personal-engagement extraordinary service mentality. The new customer generation wants to provide input, and wants to be treated as one-of-a-kind in their solution, delivery, and service. They stick in our minds and help us remember ideas and concepts in a way that numbers and text on a slide with a bar graph won’t.

Custom 55

Custom Customer Slides Commerce 55

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

It seems sort of silly but for enterprise sales at least, if you don’t have buffer built into your price & services you’re bound to get hacked down anyways. Once percentage was agreed we’d negotiate “service credits.&# The standard contract had no remedies in the event we didn’t meet our SLA.

Pricing 296

Pricing Sales Startup Customer 296

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2015

Passionate entrepreneurs tend to talk on and on about their disruptive technology, their intent to change the world and free services, but if a business can’t provide quantifiable value to real customers, the dream will likely turn into a nightmare. In reality, a good pitch is not just for elevator meetings.

Startup 104

Startup Summary Patents Examples 104

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

However, he also realized that a far bigger opportunity existed with respect to helping other businesses sell their goods and services online. and I''ll put a directory listing service on the Internet. I''m not hiding behind any slides. Every morning I gonna spend the first hours of my day. I’ve got the list.

Startup 223

Startup Yahoo Santa Barbara Slides 223

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2010

Small groups of consultants have now become groups of specialists – CFO Services, Marketing Services, or Management Services. Results” these days are not Powerpoint slides, or theories and recommendations. All aspects of customer service apply. Specialist versus consultant. Charge by task or fixed-rate.

Startup 90

Startup Slides Email Custom 90

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Let me be quick to say that a plan doesn’t have be a book, and probably should start as a “pitch deck” of maybe a dozen slides which cover all the right bases. Providing your product or service free to customers may sound attractive in marketing materials, but you need revenue sources to survive. The details can be added later.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2018

Certainly a slide or two needs to carry over describing the product and features at a high level. Potential investors love to see gross margins in the fifty percent range or greater, with recurring revenue through subscriptions, follow-on sales, or services. Business model showing costs, pricing, and margins.

Product 58

Product Slides Entrepreneur Invest 58

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2010

Have minimums but a sliding scale. If 1% of your stock for year one equals 50,000 shares then you might give 10,000 shares when they hit $50,000 in sales and a sliding scale between $50k-$200k. If they value your product / service they’ll buy it. If they don’t value your product / service they won’t.

Startup 298

Startup Sales Slides Metrics 298

Tech Coast Venture Network

OCTOBER 25, 2010

The minimum level of coverage includes, among other things, emergency services, hospitalization, wellness, and maternity and newborn care. After the 2014 tax year, smaller businesses purchasing insurance through a state exchange will receive a credit for as much as 50% of their contributions, also on a sliding scale.

Slides 100

Slides Startup Study Resource 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2014

In their passion and excitement about a new product or service, entrepreneurs tend to continually narrow the scope of potential competitors, and often claim to have no direct competitors. Non-specific terms, like better usability and low cost don’t incite customers to action these days.

Competition 93

Competition Startup Patents Slides 93

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2013

The faster you grow, the more cash you need, to build product, facilities, staff, and service. They pay just the smallest bills and let the rest slide. If you are dealing with distributors, that wait can easily be four or five months. Higher than anticipated growth has put you in cash flow hell.

Startup 114

Startup Sales Layoffs Slides 114

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2016

The faster you grow, the more cash you need, to build product, facilities, staff, and service. They pay just the smallest bills and let the rest slide. One way to defer some of these costs, as outlined by ProOpinion , is to provide alternative compensation methods (equity or compensation based) to your new employees.

Startup 64

Startup Sales Layoffs Slides 64

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2012

Investors expect a one or two-page executive summary sheet for the initial screening, backed up by a ten-slide Powerpoint investor presentation. This must be someone who is willing to pay real money for your product or service. Use your own money or friends and family to demonstrate progress early. Close at least one initial customer.

Angel 104

Angel Screening Summary Startup 104